tightens
- 1Third-person singular simple present of tighten.
The mechanic tightens every bolt on the wheel before signing off.
Worry tightens her chest whenever the phone rings late at night.
Note
One spelling serves both directions of the verb. Someone tightens a strap, and a strap also tightens by itself as the load pulls on it. Finance gives the word a third use: whoever tightens raises short-term interest rates and makes money harder to borrow, often with no object at all. Keep the -s for a single subject in the present, as in she tightens and the market tightens, but they tighten.
The rope tightens as the crate swings clear of the dock.
When inflation climbs, the bank tightens and borrowers feel it within weeks.
tightens is a form of tighten
tighten, verb: To make something firmer, more taut, or more secure, typically by pulling or turning. Full entry
- Forms
- tightentightens he/she/ittightening -ing formtightened past tense, past participle
- Spelling
- tighten → tightens: add -s
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /z/.
Use it in a sentence
Write your own sentence with tightens, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.